Trembling Courage
by DownInTheDirt
Summary: A new girl arrives at the Dumping Ground, troubled by her mysterious past. So WHY was she put into care? And is she really what she seems? Reviews are always welcome! My first Tracy Beaker Returns story!
1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:- Well, here I am again! And I know what you're all thinking: "NOT a Harry Potter fan fic!" Well yes, you would be correct there. I've recently been hooked to the 'Tracy Beaker Returns' series. And seeing as there's no category for that, I went with the next best thing. This will probably be the first and last story in this category, unless I get any other ideas. I had this idea and wanted to write it, so I hope you like the change!**

**Update on 'Occlumency': I haven't abandoned this story. I'm in the process of writing chapter four, and I should have it uploaded in two weeks or so, if everything goes to plan! Be patient, my dears!**

The sleek, black Ford pulled into the gravel driveway, before coming to a halt outside a vast building. A woman with short, straight blonde locks opened the driver's door, and stepped out into the open air. The badge which was pinned to her black jumper read 'Alexandra Halt. Social Worker'. She took in her surroundings, before she turned towards the motor again, kneeling down to attend to the young girl, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

"You'll be fine. This is a nice place to live, I promise." She smiled sweetly – maybe a little too sweetly. Anyone who saw her making that face would instantly think she was putting on a fake smile.

After a long hesitation, the girl opened the passenger door, and like her social worker, stepped out of the car, and shut the door behind her. She had long, auburn curls, sharp blue eyes and rosy red cheeks. Her name was Alexis Skym. The building that stood before her was a children's home, which went by the name of Elmtree House. Alexandra had been right – it didn't look scary here – on the contrary, it looked like a friendly place. But it was still new and different, and children's homes were never a good thing. Or so Alexis had been told by everyone but Alexandra.

Alexis hadn't wanted to come here, but at the tender age of eleven and a half, she had no choice in the matter. Her parents and her younger sister, Daisy, had been her only family. She had no other relations to stay with. She had been told that coming here would not be permanent. She would be fostered in no time. She didn't believe that, of course. Though, she pretended that she did.

Alexis was a fairly quiet girl, and she always had been. She probably always would be. She was also small for her age, so other children mostly saw her as an easy target. She had fathomed, (ever since she had been told that she was going into care), how she could possibly fit in or make friends, when she would be overlooked and invisible for the majority of the time. She had been so engrossed in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed that the front door had opened, and a man was standing on the threshold to greet the new girl and her social worker.

The man was tall and pleasant looking, with not much hair, and the hair that he did have was turning grey. He wore a kindly smile on his face.

"You must be Alexis." He had an Irish lilt to his voice. He held out a hand for Alexis to shake. After a long indecision, she took his hand into hers and shook. "I'm Mike. Welcome to our humble abode." He said, trying to sound like a British man in the 1950's. He actually did it quite well, and at this, Alexis had to smile. Mike didn't release her hand as he gently guided her into her new home. It looked a lot better on the inside than it had on the outside. It was colourful and cheerful looking, and pictures hung against the orange coloured walls of the hallway. The floor was thinly carpeted, and several doors led off to various other rooms. Despite how homey this place looked, Alexis still had her objections.

The door to the office creaked open, and two women appeared in the doorway. One was wearing bright colours, had slightly tanned skin, slightly overweight, but on the whole, she looked like the main authority figure. The other was short and skinny, with black hair. She couldn't have looked more than nineteen or twenty. In Alexis' opinion, she didn't look old enough to be a care worker. Another thing that caught Alexis' attention was, she was sure that she had seen this woman somewhere before.

"Alexis?" The older and larger woman smiled pleasantly. She spoke with an accent, but Alexis couldn't work out which accent it was. The eleven year old nodded, timidly.

"People usually call me Lex or Lexxi..." She replied in a tiny voice.

"Okay then, Lexxi. I'm Gina..." She nodded to her younger co-worker, "...And this is Tracy. She can take you to meet the others while Mike and I speak to your social worker." Lexxi said nothing, as Alexandra left Lexxi's suitcases outside of the office door, and followed Mike and Gina into the little room. Tracy smiled at Lexxi. She looked like a lot of fun, if a little mischievous.

"Come on." Tracy encouraged, as she made her way down to another door, and Lexxi followed behind her. She found herself in the doorway of a large lounge area, littered with toys, and full of other children of varying ages. Some were playing pool, others watching television and fighting over the remote, and the others were scattered here and there, either chatting or doing their own thing.

"Guys!" Tracy called. Surprisingly, the other residents could hear her over the noise that they were making, and they silenced, turning to listen. Tracy looked taken aback. It was as though they had never listened to her before. "This is Alexis. She's just arrived. She's the new girl that we were talking to you about this morning." Tracy's grip tightened on Lexxi's shoulder, and she soon found out why. Before she knew it, a tanned girl with long, chocolate coloured hair, and dressed in a lot of pink, came running enthusiastically up to her.

"Hi Lexxi, I'm Carmen! I'm ten. Nearly the same age as you! Everyone's friends here, promise! Oh, I love your top!" She gasped, gesturing to the sparkly pink top that Lexxi was wearing; that top was the last thing that her mother had ever bought for her. Carmen had said all of this so rapidly that Lexxi's head was spinning in the confusion of it all. The other girl's bubbly personality and enthusiasm unnerved her, and made her all the more nervous. She wasn't ready for that yet. She had only just got here.

"Don't crowd her, Carmen. She's nervous enough as it is." Tracy warned, not unkindly, but Carmen did take her seriously, and she backed off. Lexxi was relieved to be given some space – she found all of the people a little intimidating. The only other time she had been in a room with this many people was at school, and even there, she never felt comfortable.

"Can I see my room please?" She whispered. She didn't want to be unapproachable or cold. She would introduce herself to everyone properly later. Just not now. Tracy gave her a slight, reassuring smile.

"Of course." As they were leaving, Lexxi looked over her shoulder and said:

"Bye." She was led by Tracy up a flight of stairs, and through a door. It was the first door on the left, right beside the stairs. Perfect, she thought. Her suitcases were sat beside her bed; someone had obviously taken them up to her room. She blinked back tears, as she looked around her new room. Realisation had set in. She had to stay here, in a place where children went if they were unwanted. She sat on the bed, taking a good look at the interior design. It had flower wallpaper. Not her style at all.

"We'll have it redecorated so it's more your style." Tracy was standing in the doorway. She walked further into the room, and sat down on the bed, placing an arm around Lexxi's trembling shoulders. "I used to live here too, you know. And I turned out perfect, right?" She teased. When she got no response from Lexxi, she sighed, and stood. She knew that not many things would lift Lexxi's spirits at the moment. "I'll leave you to settle in."

Once Tracy had left the room, and shut the door behind her, Lexxi unzipped one of her suitcases, and took out a picture that was sitting on the top of her clothing. The picture was of her family. Her mother on the left hand side: auburn haired, pretty, and smiling. Her father: dark haired, and holding a small girl on his lap. Lexxi's sister, and best friend. She was in the picture too, standing between her parents, and pulling a face at the camera. That was how things used to be, and Lexxi wanted that back desperately. She held the picture close to her heart and cried. Today was the first day of the rest of her life.

**Author's Note:- Well there it is! I know it's short, but it's an introduction, really. I have ideas for chapter two, so see you there! x**


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Note:- Well hello again! It took me a long time to update this story, no? Yes, I'm sorry about that. Things in real life have been crazy! And I also had a major writer's block on this story. However, I've been watching the newer episodes of Tracy Beaker Returns, (They're amazing, aren't they?), and I believe they helped to break my block.**

**So yes, chapter two is finally here!**

**I hope you enjoy it! :)**

"LUNCH!" The shrill voice seemed to echo throughout the four walls of the house, and beyond, but Lexxi didn't even flinch. She was used to shouting. After a few years of being shouted at in the face because of the smallest things, loud noises didn't really trouble her anymore.

She breathed a long sigh, as she sat up on her bed. Someone knocked on her door and opened it without invitation. In a little head poked – Alexis recognised her from earlier. It was that girl named Tee.

"Hey." Tee smiled, cheerfully, holding a hand out to the new girl. "Want to sit next to me at lunch? I can be sort of like...your best friend until you're all settled in. You'll be fine after a few days, I promise." Alexis looked wary, edgy even, before she finally stood and walked to the door, taking Tee's hand.

"What are we having for lunch?"

"Spaghetti bolognaise. And don't worry, Tracy didn't cook it." Tee replied with a smirk. Alexis raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with Tracy's cooking?" Tee's eyes lit up at the question, as though she was reliving a memory.

"Well once, a while ago, Tracy was doing the night shift here, and she decided that chicken and banana would be a good combination for our pizza. It was disgusting, by the way. Liam and Frank went out trying to sell it. I guess some people were like Tracy, and thought it would taste good." She shrugged. By now, they had reached the kitchen and Tee was sitting opposite Lily and Carmen. Alexis sat in the empty seat beside Tee, already aware that everyone was staring at her.

"What were you just talking about?" Tracy raised an eyebrow at Tee and Lexxi as she placed their plates of food in front of them. Lexxi actually giggled, for the first time since she had arrived.

"About you cooking chicken and banana pizza, and apparently it tasting disgusting." Alexis said, in her matter of fact voice. Everyone else mimed gagging at the memory.

"I 'd just gotten that taste out of my mouth!" Liam sighed, dramatically. "Some of the others were lucky enough not to try it!"

Tracy rolled her eyes, sitting down at the end of the table, beside the little blonde boy with the toy giraffe.

"Well let's see if you lot could do better." She said, cutting Harry's spaghetti into manageable pieces. Alexis' heart sank – she and her family uses to make pizza all the time at home; chicken and sausage and cheese and tomato. They had a good time; they always did...back when they were happy. Shaking her head in order to clear her thoughts, Lexxi piped up.

"I think I probably could...I've made pizzas a dozen times. Maybe we could all make one and have it for tea." She suggested. The others gasped in excitement.

"Yeah!" Carmen beamed, "And we can all choose a topping we like! Please, Gina, let us!" Gina nodded, smiling one of her more kind smiles.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. We still have some pizza stuff in the cellar from when Tracy made tea that time. But just make sure to wash your hands, wear aprons...and try not to make too much mess."

Half an hour later, the kids, Gina and Tracy, who would be supervising, were all standing around the kitchen counters, with aprons on, and hands washed. Lexxi stood next to Tee, who she had decided was now her real best friend, and was explaining to everyone how to add just the right amount of tomato puree.

"The trick is, to spread it evenly, and to spread it in a circular motion so it doesn't look uneven." She explained, spreading the tomato puree evenly over her pizza base. The others copied her. Lexxi was astonished that she had managed to keep everyone's attention for so long, actually. Usually, someone would pay attention to her for a maximum of a minute and a half, before they grew bored of her.

Proceeding to place the toppings on her pizza, Alexis looked around at everyone she would now be living with. Some were bickering over toppings, some were laughing, and a mysterious looking boy was just placing toppings on his pizza in a very perfect and precise manner. She wondered if any of them had worked out that she, Alexis was strange. She assumed that some of these kids came from difficult backgrounds...but if they found out what her life had really been like, would they shun her? She didn't know. She had never told any of the few friends she had about herself. She usually made an ideal family life up, to cover the truth.

Once the pizzas were in the oven, and the kitchen was clean, Tee took Alexis to her room, and sat on her bed.

"So this is my room...if Poppy and Rosie were still here you could have shared with me." Alexis raised a confused eyebrow.

"Who are Poppy and Rosie?"

"Oh, they're Lily's sisters. They got fostered."

"Without Lily?"

"Oh...well she was fostered with them at first...and then they brought her back, because...well I think you'll have to ask her. Do you have any sisters?" Alexis' heart sank into her stomach at the question. She couldn't lie...Tee would hate her if she ever found out.

"Yeah, one. But we obviously don't see eachother." Tee nodded.

"Yeah...I don't know what I'd do if I was here without Johnny..."

Alexis frowned, sitting up straighter, "Do you smell burning?" Tee sniffed, with a concerned expression on her face.

"Yeah...but it's only been fifteen minutes...the pizzas can't be done yet..." The girls exchanged glances, before getting to their feet, and rushing down the stairs and to the kitchen. Tracy was pulling a pizza out of a smoking oven. The one she extracted from the oven was black and crispy. Tracy coughed and fanned the smoke away with her hand.

"Someone's turned the temperature all the way up..."

Alexis jumped violently as Gus suddenly behind her, with his notebook in hand.

"The pizza was put into the oven at one hundred and eighty degrees..." He looked at his watch, "At 1:26...it's now 1:44...So the pizza shouldn't have been cooked for another twenty two minutes..." He walked over to the oven, looking at the temperature dial, "we all left the kitchen when the pizzas went into the oven...so someone must have come back a few minutes later and turned the temperature up...on purpose." Lexxi was mind blown...She knew what Espergers syndrome was, of course, but she wondered how Gus could possibly remember such insignificant details.

But there was a more pressing issue...Who had turned the oven up, and why had they done it? The unpleasant prickling sensation on her arms told her that someone had it in for her. It could be anybody in this house, but no one had a motive...or did they? She was at a complete loss, and had no specific suspects. All she knew was that everyone except she and Tee were in the frame.

"It's a mystery..." Tee responded, slowly, staring at one of the blackened pizzas. Gus nodded, curtly.

"I'm good at solving mysteries."

**Author's Note:- Well, there you have it! I'm not really all that happy with it; mainly because I didn't plan it. I just sat down at my computer and forced myself to keep writing. So I apologise for any mistakes.**

**So, who do you think turned the oven up? And who could possibly have it in for Lexxi? Both questions will be answered in chapter three!**

**Sorry again for the long wait. Reviews are very much appreciated!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**x**


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